hmv.com reviews... Maximo Park @ Cardiff Tramshed

Maximo Park blasted into Cardiff last night (May 16th) and we were there to catch them in action...

Who?

Indie favourites Maximo Park in support of their sixth album Risk To Exist.

Where?

At the Tramshed in Cardiff; their first Welsh gig for many years.

Was it full? And how were the crowd?

The room is pretty much full tonight and they are very loud especially for a Tuesday night. The heat surprisingly doesn’t turn a lot of people off from being particular active neither.

So what was the set like? What did they play?

Tonight we get material from all six albums which span the band's career with a lot of focus on their latest LP Risk To Exist.

Songs like the new album's title track and 'What Equals Love' are treated with cheers as loud as old favourites like the wonderful 'Books From Boxes'. 'Graffiti' in particular is a very pleasant surprise tonight with it being absent from many of their setlists recently and it really gets everyone moving.

There’s a mixture of high octane thrills from the electric 'Our Velocity' to the haunting 'Brain Cells', while 'Going Missing' gets a full minute's worth of cheers. 'Girls Who Play Guitars' finishes off the set with all manner of robot dancing and staccato movements which is always entertaining to watch as well as bringing out frontman Paul Smith's infamous high kicks!

Any good between-song banter?

Throughout they come off as a group who are effortlessly charming and humble to be there. They thank the very loud Welsh crowd for their hospitality and even talk of how intimidating it can be Cardiff on a night out!

Did they put on much of a show?

They are captivating to watch on stage, putting so much effort into every song. Smith, in particular, throws himself across the stage and there probably isn’t a moment when he isn’t dancing in some way.

What was the highlight of the set?

That would be 'Our Velocity', which comes about halfway through the set and it’s an absolute monster. It’s hard to think that the song itself is 10 years old and yet it shows no sign of losing any energy at all. The stage flashes with strobes as the crowd go into a frenzy.

Where can I catch them next?

The tour finishes off in Falmouth and Manchester this week followed by a huge slot at the Dreamland Festival in Margate at the end of this month. Along with a number of European festival dates this summer, they are back in the UK later on in July for the Y Not and Truck festivals.